A: For me, it’s the atmosphere, and the attitude that comes with it. You know, for some teams — I’m from Michigan, so we see Michigan State or Michigan basketball — and, yeah, they’re great, but they get complacent. Here, that’s not it. We’re always hungry. At Duke, we’re everybody’s national champions again, everybody hates us and they want to knock us off. It’s us against the world because people can’t take it.

Q: What drives you to put so much effort into your persona?

A: Into all this? It’s been my dream my entire life to bleed blue daily. Only four-letter word: D-U-K-E.

Q: What is your all-time favorite Duke Basketball moment? Could be anything in the past, on the court or in the stands.

A: I had a relative who came here, and she snuck me through K-ville and through the Crazies — a Virginia game in 2011. Kyrie had just gotten hurt. We were playing really sluggish at halftime. It was my first game ever as a Crazie. And right after halftime, Andre Dawkins comes out — classic Baby Dawk, classic Young Threezy comes out — and hits three consecutive threes from the exact same spot, and the roof just exploded. Nothing like it. That’s when I knew I was gonna do anything I could to be a Crazie.

Q: What’s been your all-time favorite Cameron Crazie experience?

A: Other than Dre-All-Day’s shot, for me it was the game against Davidson. Matt or Tyler missed a shot from the corner and Semi saw it and started flying across the baseline. You knew that that man, the most athletic human being anyone’s ever seen, went up there and put that pullback dunk down so hard that I swear to God it rippled the space-time continuum and will give my children birth defects or something. I’ve never seen something that incredible.

“It’s been my dream my entire life to bleed blue daily.”

Q: What else at Duke are you crazy about?

A: I’m crazy about politics and policy.

Q: And where else do you channel your passions?

A: I write, actually. Back in May, I started a blog called “The Duke Zone.” It was a little vanity project. Then in July it kind of randomly blew up and is now getting somewhere up to 2,500-3,000 views every time I write. And it’s funny too, because one of the other reasons I wanted to come here was a writer named Shane Ryan who went here, posted a lot about Duke sports, and had a blog called “Seth Curry Saves Duke.” I always used to read it. Full circle, for the last few weeks, I’ve been writing in one of the segments that he used to do that he’s letting me do now. It’s really nice. It started off as a little vanity project, but now it’s grown to something people actually read and enjoy. It’s fun.

‘Anatomy of a Crazie’ features a few of the die-hard student fans who fill Cameron Indoor Stadium with their fervor. Visit each game day to meet a new Cameron Crazie.

A: I’ve been a Crazie pretty much my whole life because my parents ended up going here; so ever since — the memories I can recall from five years old onward — I’ve bled the blue and white for all Duke basketball games. I remember a lot of wins and some hard losses.

Q: What drives you to put so much effort into your Crazie persona?

A: Just my love for the game and for our players and how dedicated they are — how they wake up every morning and come in to practice. I want to reciprocate that effort by giving back to them and showing them how much we care.

I want to reciprocate that effort by giving back to them and showing them how much we care.

Q: What is your all-time favorite Duke Basketball moment? It can be in the past. It can be anything.

A: My all-time favorite Duke Basketball moment is probably during the 2010 championship game when Gordon Hayward missed the buzzer beater from half court and we got a championship — our most recent championship — so that still resonates within me.

Q: What’s been your favorite Cameron Crazie experience? It can be out there or in Cameron.

A: My favorite Cameron Crazie experience is probably when Jabari hit his first three-pointer on his first attempt. It stuck with me how good of a team we are and how good of a player he is. We have a legitimate shot of winning the tournament this year, I would say.

Q: What else do you do at Duke? What else are you crazy about?

A: I’m crazy about learning new things — trying new things. With any new experience that’s offered to me, I like to go in with a head of steam and just learn as much as I can and observe as much as I can from this amazing Duke experience.

A: Honestly, every time I step into Cameron and every time I’m in that student section, I get goosebumps. Every time a shot gets hit, I get goosebumps on top of the goosebumps that I already had from being there. It’s just such an amazing experience. I love it — absolutely love it.

Q: So is that what drives you to put so much effort into your Crazie persona?

A: Oh definitely. Also, I just love the attention. It’s so much fun being Mario and Luigi because people recognize you and people just love that you put so much effort into a costume for a basketball game. I love hearing from people, “Hey, it’s Mario and Luigi!” So Mario and I just keep on doing it every single time.

Every time I step into Cameron and every time I’m in that student section, I get goosebumps.

Q: Do people recognize you out of your costumes?

A: We do get some recognition, actually! There was a picture on Instagram that actually got 5,000 likes or so. That was pretty awesome.​

Q: What is your all-time favorite Duke Basketball moment? Could be past or present.

A: I loved when Austin Rivers hit that three down at that university that we won’t speak of. He nailed the shot and he just silenced every single fan out there. The sadness that I saw in the Tarheels fans’ eyes was just heartwarming.

Q: What has been your favorite Cameron Crazie experience? It can be out there or in Cameron.

A: One of my favorite experiences has been when the players stretched, and we were in the first row just talking to them. Even though they are basketball players at Duke University, they are human beings also and it’s pretty cool getting to talk to them. They’re students just as we are.

Q: What else at Duke are you crazy about? What do you do extracurricularly?

A: I love volunteering. And I am hoping to become a line monitor at some point because I think their jobs are just awesome, and getting to interact with all the Crazies here is pretty cool.

Q: Is there anything you want to add?

A: Go to hell, Carolina! Always.

‘Anatomy of a Crazie’ features a few of the die-hard student fans who fill Cameron Indoor Stadium with their fervor. Visit each game day to meet a new Cameron Crazie.

Alter Ego: Shameka Rolla

A: It’s a tradition. You hear “Duke Basketball” ​and you know it’s something you want to be a part of, you know exactly what it is — it’s enough.

Q: What drives you to put so much effort into your persona?

A: You want to give Duke that reputation of being one of the best schools and having the best fans!

It’s a tradition. You hear “Duke Basketball” ​and you know it’s something you want to be a part of, you know exactly what it is — it’s enough.

Q: What is your all-time favorite Duke Basketball moment?

A: My favorite Duke Basketball moment would have to be a personal experience off the court. Before the Syracuse game, Jabari and Rasheed played basketball outside of Cameron with some fans. Just knowing that they care about the fans and want to interact with us means a lot. I was one of the lucky few that was able to play with them and it’s definitely an experience I will never forget.

Q: What’s been your favorite Cameron Crazie moment?

A: The fact that Jabari gives us a good lob every game is pretty entertaining. As much as we love cheering for each possession, a dunk always gets us going. Oh, and definitely being group number one for Davidson.

Q: What else at Duke are you crazy about?

A: Duke is able to combine an impressive athletics program and exceptional academics. This sets us apart from other schools that are just academically strong or athletically strong. ​I really love that about Duke.

‘Anatomy of a Crazie’ features a few of the die-hard student fans who fill Cameron Indoor Stadium with their fervor. Visit each game day to meet a new Cameron Crazie.

A: I love seeing the players run out on the court for the first time when we’re front row and just screaming our heads off. But most of all I love tenting with my friends, camping out for days, and going to class looking like a bum because the only thing you really care about is Duke basketball not how you look like a homeless person. The community in K-ville is great and I love getting to know everyone who’s just equally as crazy as I am about Duke Basketball!

Q: What is your all-time favorite Duke Basketball moment? It can be past or present.

A: Definitely standing in the student section at the first game this year against Davidson. We were front row, center court, and we made the front page of the newspaper! That was such a good feeling to wake up in the morning and see my face and my friends’ faces on the front page of the paper.

Q: What has been your favorite Cameron Crazie experience?

A: Being in the tent for 24 hours straight and then stepping outside and seeing all the basketball players walk into practice. It was such a great reassurance that everything we’re doing is is going to pay off and that we’re gonna get to cheer our team on from the front row at the UNC game!

“The community in K-ville is great and I love getting to know everyone who’s just equally as crazy as I am about Duke Basketball!”

Q: What else do you? Do you have extracurricular activities?

A: I’m involved in my dorm’s House Council, which is so much fun. I love making posters and putting on events for my dorm, but mostly cause I love to hang out with my friends so much. I’m also really passionate about art. The arts annex is such a cool place to relax and de-stress while drawing and painting — which are some of my favorite activities! I also really love sports, and I’m going to get involved with intramural softball this spring and hopefully basketball next year. I’m involved in a few of the Christian ministries on campus and I love the people I’ve met in them. Just being in their lives, getting to know them personally is the most fun thing I get to do around here. I also love baking cookies and brownies for my friends in my dorm!

Q: Anything you wanna add?

A: Amile Jefferson is my favorite player. Ever.

‘Anatomy of a Crazie’ features a few of the die-hard student fans who fill Cameron Indoor Stadium with their fervor. Visit each game day to meet a new Cameron Crazie.

Alter Ego: Kenneth David Stewart

Power Level: 5th year grad studentPrimary Specialty: Music CompositionSecondary Specialty: Cello Teacher at High Strung School of Music in DurhamCrazie Power: Bestowing Fabulous upon MY Blue Devils!Hometown: Tucson, AZ

Q: So what is it about Duke Basketball that makes you go Crazie?

A: The family makes me go Crazie — the camaraderie amongst the fellow Crazies as well as with the team, and just the energy that’s created from everyone in Cameron. Just the energy.

Q: What is your all-time favorite Duke Basketball moment? It could have been in the past.

The University of Arizona. And I swore then that I would never become a Duke fan.

Q: What happened?

A: I came to school here and fell in love.

“The family makes me go Crazie — the camaraderie amongst the fellow Crazies as well as with the team, and just the energy that’s created from everyone in Cameron.”

Q: What else at Duke are you crazy about? What are you passionate about?

A: I’m in the Ph.D. program in music composition, so I’m crazy about the support I’ve been given. And I’m crazy about the opportunities that are afforded to me through collaboration in the Dance Department as well as the Media Arts + Sciences department. As a composer, Duke allows and encourages me to reach out and collaborate with other artists in other disciplines.

Q: Do you do any extracurricular activities?

A: I’m kind of all over the place. I build electric guitars. It’s fun. It’s something that I’d like to have more time for. I’m a husband (that’s a full-time job) to a non-Dukie, which is typical.

Q: As long as she’s not a UNC fan.

A: Oh no — no, no, no. No. There are few things that she dislikes more than Duke — UNC being one of them.

‘Anatomy of a Crazie’ features a few of the die-hard student fans who fill Cameron Indoor Stadium with their fervor. Visit each game day to meet a new Cameron Crazie.

A: All the people and all the energy when everyone is screaming and yelling and being mean to the other team. It’s pretty exciting.

Q: What drives you to put so much effort into being a Crazie?

A: I feel like this is what Duke is all about: it’s all about sitting down and studying with people during the day, and then standing up and jumping and screaming with them at the night. And so whatever you have to put in to it to make that happen — it’s all worth it because we’re all one solid body of Crazies out there.

Q: What is your all-time favorite Duke Basketball moment?

A: I’m gonna have to go with one that I’ve seen, because I wasn’t a big fan until I got into Duke; but last year when we played OSU — I’m from Ohio, so there was a lot on the line at that game. And I have a lot of friends that go to OSU, and they kept bringing up how they had won the year before. So there was a lot of pressure on the line for us to win. I remember we weren’t playing so hot at first. It was kind of rough to watch. Then all of a sudden Mason Plumlee had this dunk, and it was the single loudest noise I’ve ever heard in my entire life when the whole stadium just erupted. I think I was jumping and screaming so hard that I fell off the bench, but everyone around me was too, so it was okay and it was amazing.

“Then all of a sudden Mason Plumlee had this dunk, and it was the single loudest noise I’ve ever heard in my entire life when the whole stadium just erupted.”

Q: What’s been your favorite Cameron Crazie moment? It could be out there or in the stands or off the court.

A: As weird as it sounds, I really like when you come by K-ville and it’s cold and it’s raining and you see people and they’re still happy because they’re still in K-ville getting ready for a Duke game and it kind of doesn’t matter what else is going on. Everyone’s just excited for the game and for Cameron Crazies, and Cameron Indoor, and Coach K and all of that.

Q: What else do you do at Duke? What else makes you crazy?

A: I’m in On Tap — I’m a tap dancer. I run. I did a Tough Mudder this semester. And I’m into languages and linguistics and all sorts of nerdy stuff like that. So it all combines together.

‘Anatomy of a Crazie’ features a few of the die-hard student fans who fill Cameron Indoor Stadium with their fervor. Visit each game day to meet a new Cameron Crazie.

Alter Ego: Classified

When World War I ended, Duke’s Board of Trustees lifted their quarter-century ban of football on campus, leading to an interest in naming Duke’s athletic teams. A campaign to create and name a mascot ensued, and suggestions included the Blue Titans, Blue Eagles, Polar Bears, Royal Blazes, Blue Warriors and Blue Devils. The Chasseurs Alpins – also known as “les diables blues” or blue devils – were a French alpine military unit that captured the public’s hearts and imagination with their bravery during the war. Famed composer Irving Berlin wrote a song in their honor, describing them as “strong and active, most attractive … those Devils, the Blue Devils of France.” Though there was speculation that the new name could cause some opposition due to Duke’s Methodist roots, the name was seen as patriotic rather than anti-religious, and eventually caught on. During the 1922–1923 academic year, student leaders and student publications began referring to the athletic teams as the Blue Devils.

Have you ever seen the Blue Devil frown? No, because the Blue Devils keep winning!

‘Anatomy of a Crazie’ features a few of the die-hard student fans who fill Cameron Indoor Stadium with their fervor. Visit each game day to meet a new Cameron Crazie.